If figures are the problem, there are counters in the Overlord Expansion that could be used. Also, I wonder if DoW would make packs of figures available for those of us that are insane enough to want to play this.

Well, the new maps are 33% longer than the standard Breakthrough, and I think it was yourself who indicated a depth of 151 cm. Thus, it is nearly impossible to reach the other edge of the board from your side of the table, and it is still inconvenient to reach the center area while sitting on a chair, although possible while standing. To reach the other edge of Gold Beach or Omaha Beach, you would have to walk around the 4,23 m table. I don't think I will ever be in that position, but it is still something I thought about as soon as I learned about the map dimensions.

By the way, we still know very little about the new reinforcement concept. Is the number of reinforcements limited in any way, or could a whole second army brought onto the map during a match?

Any idea if we are going to get Canadian troops in the future? I think a Canadian/Italian Army pack would be super! You have to have the Canadians for D-Day, they were probably 1/3 of the British invasion force!

As an aside:
If you live with pets and play on the floor just plan for some unit attrition.
Last time I did this the dog ate one land mine and half a sandbag while we were on break.
Fortunately, the mine was diffused.

It seems like the one thing that would be the most helpful for folks would be the ability to get extra decks of BREAKTHROUGH Command Cards without having to purchase the entire Winter Wars set. It would be a nice bonus if these were sold separately and a greater incentive to purchase the D-Day Landings Map Set.

This would be great I think. I hope they make them available separate. Untill they do, you can ofcoure combine other decks to make a breakthrough deck. If you own 2 base games or one overlord you can make anther Breakthrough deck.
You just have to make some kind of summary to remember some specific cards (airpower, barrage, M&C, which cards have on the move) who are different

would it be possible to make it in such a way that besides being able to zoom (and scroll) the whole thing (board, side board and compendium panel), you would also be able to zoom (and scroll) only the board part.
When playing 6 vs 6, each player will mostly be watching his board and maybe some part of his two neighbours, while only occasionally scrolling to other parts.

Hmmm ... Ras listed a total of 10 British Infantry units for Sword Beach (in which case one Med expansion would be sufficient to play the map), but maybe he forgot to count in the Paras? Looks as if it are 19 units in total, so I guess I need another set of figures.

By the way, I don't want to nit-pick, but as we have a nice bascule bridge tile looking just like the real Pegasus Bridge, why is there a tied-arch bridge on the pre-printed map? It looks more like Arnheim Bridge.

would it be possible to make it in such a way that besides being able to zoom (and scroll) the whole thing (board, side board and compendium panel), you would also be able to zoom (and scroll) only the board part.
When playing 6 vs 6, each player will mostly be watching his board and maybe some part of his two neighbours, while only occasionally scrolling to other parts.

No, that is not possible. The "Center on opponent's moves?" checkbox is a VASSAL option for the entire module only, and there is no way to restrict anything.

Hmmm ... Ras listed a total of 10 British Infantry units for Sword Beach (in which case one Med expansion would be sufficient to play the map), but maybe he forgot to count in the Paras? Looks as if it are 19 units in total, so I guess I need another set of figures.

Indeed, you are correct! I didn't include the British Airborne troops, so there would be 19 Allied Infantry needed for that scenario. I'll go back and fix that in my other posts.

No, that is not possible. The "Center on opponent's moves?" checkbox is a VASSAL option for the entire module only, and there is no way to restrict anything.

But it doesn't seem improbable that on VASSAL you could extend the Breakthrough depth to 23 hexes so that two people could play a single scenario and if other people played the remaining scenario games simultaneously it might be possible for Operation Neptune?
They would just need to communicate with their flanks in some way.

I'm still studying the Sword Beach map ... looks as if the Brits will have a hard time coming ashore, they are not even starting at the shoreline but at least one hex away from the beach. There is a wire on the rightmost coastline hex, and units are not allowed to battle on ocean hexes - does that mean that only tanks could remove that wire? Also, can landing craft enter hexes with wire? We only know about hedgehogs. And finally, what is the meaning of the two units (one tank and one infantry) marked with a battle star?

I'm thinking I might have enough stuff to play even Operation neprune if I use Axis and Allies pieces instead of memoir '44 pieces. I have allthe A&A games, so this should give me enough Germans, Americans and Brits...(including artillery and tanks).

Okay, I overlooked that the German player begins with only three cards, so the Brits have a better chance than I thought. I also discovered a German figure also marked with a battle star. But why are five of the German medal slots showing two medals, one large and one small? What is the medal count needed to win this map alone?

No, that is not possible. The "Center on opponent's moves?" checkbox is a VASSAL option for the entire module only, and there is no way to restrict anything.

But it doesn't seem improbable that on VASSAL you could extend the Breakthrough depth to 23 hexes so that two people could play a single scenario and if other people played the remaining scenario games simultaneously it might be possible for Operation Neptune?
They would just need to communicate with their flanks in some way.

As you can see from my images I have already extended the depth to 23 hexes.

Two people could play a single scenario, and two other people could play another single scenario. But VASSAL only allows you to watch 1 game, so you can't see the border region. So having one massive Neptune with 12/16 people is still the best I think. Having 8 Axis and 8 Allied hands for cards, and 6 deck windows with BT decks, and 2 with OL decks. No decks on the side board.

By the way, we still know very little about the new reinforcement concept. Is the number of reinforcements limited in any way, or could a whole second army brought onto the map during a match?

The only limit players will have for reinforcements are that you must have an empty hex to bring the troops in on...and you must have available figures. This is why Richard recommends that players have extra sets available.

Each turn, a general will roll dice to see what type of reinforcement unit is available. There is a large (and very nice looking) table for players to refer to. Depending on their roll, players might be able to bring in a few different reinforcements or pick from a few unit types. Then their turn starts.

It certainly could result in a whole second army joining the battle, but it will depend on the length of the battle and the dice rolls. It's a fun new element to these battles!

Okay, I overlooked that the German player begins with only three cards, so the Brits have a better chance than I thought. I also discovered a German figure also marked with a battle star. But why are five of the German medal slots showing two medals, one large and one small? What is the medal count needed to win this map alone?

The units marked with the Battle Stars are Supported Infantry units or Supported Armor units. Basically they are mixed units with cool new abilities that I'll let people discover when the rules come out.

The 5 small Medals on the German medal track are there because the German player starts with that many medals! They get these medals for controlling different areas of the board...based on the new Terrain Control rules. The Allies will have to try and earn those medals back while the Germans try to keep that advantage! Very fun tug-of-war in these battles.

Thanks for the insight, Jesse. Sounds like an interesting and appropriate concept for those large maps with their strategic dimensions, but I don't think that reinforcements should be allowed when playing standard maps on the tactical level. It is part of the M44 challenge that you have to get along with those units you have at game start. Imagine playing Pegasus Bridge with an additional 20 German units on the map ... yuck!

It seems like the one thing that would be the most helpful for folks would be the ability to get extra decks of BREAKTHROUGH Command Cards without having to purchase the entire Winter Wars set. It would be a nice bonus if these were sold separately and a greater incentive to purchase the D-Day Landings Map Set.

This would be great I think. I hope they make them available separate. Untill they do, you can ofcoure combine other decks to make a breakthrough deck. If you own 2 base games or one overlord you can make anther Breakthrough deck.
You just have to make some kind of summary to remember some specific cards (airpower, barrage, M&C, which cards have on the move) who are different

Individual Breakthrough decks would indeed be handy for when you want to put more than 1 or 2 boards together.

It's slightly frustrating to discover that you may require more copies of the Equipment Pack for each board you introduce .. whilst I have one copy myself, I know of no other players locally who own this expansion. Which makes playing 2 or more boards highly unlikely for me

Individual Breakthrough decks would indeed be handy for when you want to put more than 1 or 2 boards together.

It's slightly frustrating to discover that you may require more copies of the Equipment Pack for each board you introduce .. whilst I have one copy myself, I know of no other players locally who own this expansion. Which makes playing 2 or more boards highly unlikely for me

Did you read my list of what you'll need? You'll notice that you can probably get away with 1 Equipment Pack for the Double Maps (and maybe even the Triple Maps), though you might have to get creative.

Be sure to check the lists I compiled before giving up on a board format!

Thanks for the insight, Jesse. Sounds like an interesting and appropriate concept for those large maps with their strategic dimensions, but I don't think that reinforcements should be allowed when playing standard maps on the tactical level. It is part of the M44 challenge that you have to get along with those units you have at game start. Imagine playing Pegasus Bridge with an additional 20 German units on the map ... yuck!

Of course this Reinforcement rule is new, so none of the other scenarios were tested with it...but you can only bring in 1 (or maybe 2 if you're lucky) new units each turn. So that would mean the Pegasus Bridge scenario lasted 20 turns if you have an additional 20 German units! It couldn't happen with a 4 medal limit.

Although I'm not sold on this expansion, I just thought I'd comment about the card requirements.

Were I to buy this expansion, I would never play more than 3x3 probably mostly playing 2x2. Most likely I would play 2x2 with overlord rules using a single breakthrough deck or the overlord deck. I might even play 3x3 that way.

Certainly I would never buy additional WW expansions just to get a deck that is not even necessary. Recall, before the dedicated BT deck existed we played BT with a standard deck.

I would consider whipping out 3 of my standard decks to play 3x3 and its easy enough to remember the differences in cards:

Recon -> +2 on the move
Probe -> +2 on the move
Attack -> +1 on the move
Medics and Mech. -> use 4 dice
Air Power -> Both sides roll 2 dice

And there are more cards in the BT deck, but again, a minor issue that shouldn't stop anyone from playing the scenarios.

Seriously, tiny rule differences such as which card deck to use, will have negligible impact on the game, especially as they apply equally to both sides.

The biggest drawback I can think of is space and time. This is just not an expansion for the individual player. Why not just play any number of dedicated D-Day games and forget this expansion?